Obscure game recommendations?

[Paularius]

Back in the day?

I was under the impression that these games were all made within the last 10 years or so. That they are more retro for means sake, not due to their age. Eh? Or did you play them way before 2003?

No the Exile series first started in 1995. I think Avernum is about 10 years old tho.

 

[CarlsonAndPeeters]

If you have a PS2, there are two classics from my tween years:

--Kya: Dark Lineage. A really solid platformer with great variety; solid combat, awesome free-falling sequences, and more gameplay elements like stealth and puzzle solving to round out the package. Story and voice acting is weak, but its really fun.

--I-Ninja. This game is just stupid fun. Humor is odd, characters are odd, objectives are odd. Its a tad easy, but I bet it will cost you no more than $5 and its a really fun game.

Also Whiplash is solid.

 

[bluerocker]

Here's a list of a few (For the PS2):

Beyond Good and Evil - Solid story and blend of stealth and combat.

Drakengard - The game of my tween years, this is a RPG hack n slash/flight simulator with some fantasy and horror dashed in. While the combat may be repetitive to some, I found it very much worth the mad story and characters. Also, it turns the typical idea of the JRPG protagonist and turns it on it's head. I love it so.

Killer7 - Pretty much define Suda51's fame for strangeness and style; this game is a strange blend of First Person Shooting, Psychological Horror and Mind Screw; with wacky characters and a story that makes jack squat for sense.

Psychonauts - Yahtzee has covered this one, but I'll throw in my two cents by saying that the characters really are the heart of this game. Each person you encounter will react differently for each item/event/whatever that occurs around you. To put forth a point, the Dev team even had each character record lines for an item that would only last a few minutes in your inventory, unless you ran back to show said characters.

Radiata Stories - Great humor, hilarious characters and a solid combat system. Everything I love in a JRPG.

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

The most obscure game I can think of is also the rarest game I have ever come across.
Rule Of Rose.
Everyone who ever thought Silent Hill 2 was the best horror game should try this game.

What this man said. Rule of Rose is a great and twisted game, though unfortunately I never managed to beat, I still had a lot of fun playing it.

I highly suggest going back and trying to complete it if you haven't looked up the rest of the story because it just gets better.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Chaos legion (Ps2) . Iv'e yet to hear ANYONE talk about this game . It's a hack and slash game for the ps2 , with fun but tough bosses , a good game to relieve stress .

I really enjoyed that game back in the day. A little repetitive but rather fun nonetheless! Been meaning to pick up the novel it's based on, I've heard it's good. You ever read it?

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.(2004)

Like a mix of Final Fantasy 7(especially the setting) and Pokemon. Freakin tough at times,

lotsa interesting demons (fiends) to create and a unique world had me playing for many hours

just reaching one of the endings. I wanna say more but i'll spoil the plot knowing me. PLAY IT

Not sure that I get the similarities to FF7 but, damn, more people do need to play that game. As good as Persona is, I feel bad that it's basically taken over the whole SMT franchise resulting in the awesome main series games to be overlooked =[

 

[Hjalmar Fryklund]

All the following titles are for the DS.

Avalon Code - Weird thing. Real weird thing. I can't really sum it up in short sentences, but some mechanics include "alchemical" manipulation of your foe´s composition and playing monster volley ball.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - Adventure game that takes place in the 70s USA. Travelling salesman Kyle Hyde visits a hotel in the middle-of-nowhere in search for answers about his missing partner on the force. Strong story with only a few annoying out-of-place plot points.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure - If you are looking for a teeth-grindingly hard hack-'n'-slash platformer, pick this one up.

 

[Pearwood]

Drawn: The Painted Tower - adventure
Project Zero - horror
Etrian Odyssey - Roguelike
Valkyria Chronicles - SRPG
Zork series, particularly the Enchanter spinoffs and Wishbringer - very popular in the 80s, very few fans of it or its entire genre left. Plus you can download them free which is nice.

 

[Biodeamon]

I would certainly recommend vanquish. it is a sacred relic or known to selct hipsters.

And if you're feeling truly hardcore about strategy JRPGS try any shin megami tensei games

 

[Tiswas]

I recently started going through the obscure cube library recently. There's tons of them.

P.N.03. Kinda like an arcade shoot-em-up only 3rd person. It's a lot of fun and well worth getting.

Chibi Robo. INSANELY FUN. Basically you're a tiny robot and have to do household chores etc, making sure the family is happy.

Odama: A tactical war game set on a pinball table where you use your voice to direct the troops. Amazingly good fun and about as obscure as you can get.

Doshin the Giant: Kinda like a Black + white (the lionhead game not pokemon) lite. Its clunky and kinda awkward but the charm is there.

Geist: Kinda like a FPS meets Ghost Trick.